MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Three people were killed and two seriously injured in a multi-vehicle crash that shut down northbound lanes of Interstate 75 in Marion County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers said the northbound lanes were closed near mile marker 337, as of 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday. As of 5:15 p.m., troopers said that all southbound lanes and one northbound lane had been reopened.
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Troopers said a sedan, being driven by a 56-year-old man from Gainesville, and a tractor-trailer pulling a dump trailer were heading south on Interstate 75 when they crashed into one another at about 1:10 p.m.
Following the collision, the two vehicles went through the center median guard rail and entered into the northbound lanes, a crash report shows.
After entering the northbound lanes, a Texas man driving an SUV and an unknown South Carolina man driving a truck pulling a gooseneck trailer — both heading north — then became involved in the crash, leading to further collisions, troopers said.
The tractor-trailer and SUV, driven by the 40-year-old Texan, both became engulfed in fire after coming to a stop, according to the report.
Video from a News 6 viewer, seen in the media player below, shows the fiery wreck. A word of warning: the video contains some explicit language.
Video shows traffic at a stand-still and multiple first responder vehicles are at the scene.
According to FHP, the drivers of the tractor-trailer, truck and SUV died at the scene. The Gainesville man driving the sedan and a 19-year-old passenger in the truck were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, troopers said.
Investigators said they were still working to identify the driver of the tractor-trailer as of Wednesday evening.
Any witnesses to the crash are asked to contact troopers by calling *FHP (*347).
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as we receive it.
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